The Hunters Saga
by Dark Ravenette
Summary: Based on a true life campaign. Join a multi-clan group of Vampire misfits as they try to find who's killing the Prince's children. Will be updated by individual sessions. Please R/R


This is the transcription of my current V:tM campaign. I thought it would be nice to write it all out into story form for my friends, so that we'd have a record of everything that happens. Nothing in the following story has been taken out of context. This is exactly how things happened in our heads and in our game. We're just that cool (and we have the best GM in the world). And now, on with the story. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Outside of a dance club, the night seemed normal and serene. Smoke twisted and twirled together in the evening breeze. From the darkness, a bodiless and harsh electric voice broke the nocturnal silence with a hint of disappointment. 

"Put that damn butt out, Alpha. I can see the glow from here, and if I can see it then sure as hell _they_ will be able to see it." 

"Yes sir," another voice answered through the radio transmission. A faint amber light then disappeared from sight. "How much longer do we have to wait, sir?" 

Suddenly, the doors to the club burst open, spilling light and noise onto the quiet streets. A panicked soul ran out of the club and recklessly into the night with fear radiating from every pore of his being. The club doors slammed behind him as he quickly staggered away. 

"Does that answer your question, Alpha?" the first voice hissed. "All right, it's pucker time, team. No one moves until I say..." 

The scared man stumbled to the other side of the street, now clutching his neck. From his hand, what could only be blood dripped to the pavement below. Behind him, a shadow seemed to move. 

"What was that!?" 

"Quiet, Alpha! Shit, it's too damn dark to see." 

A figure appeared behind the man who was now crumbled on the ground, bleeding to death. Though cloaked in shadow, the motion of the attacker's head was clearly apparent as it bent down to face the dying man. 

"God?" The first voice questioned into the night. 

"God here." A third voice filled the transmission. 

"God, put that fucker on his knees. Go team!" 

Without any indication of what had happened, the attacker was suddenly knocked to the ground with a baseball-sized hole gaping through his chest. The silence of the night was completely shattered when the attacker screamed a bellowing roar. From all around the fallen figure, heavily armored soldiers emerged from hiding and converged in time to watch as the hole in the attacker's chest began to close. 

"Jesus, he's healing already," gasped the soldier who was the voice of Alpha. Near him, other armed soldiers held their weapons pointed at the attacker, the same look of astonishment on their faces. 

"Open fire, team." 

"Sir, the civ isn't clear yet," Alpha replied, motioning toward the dying victim. 

"Damn it, fire or die!" 

Automatic fire lit up the street for a few moments, and the creature was driven back down to the pavement. 

The first voice sounded with one last group of commands. "Ok Father, do it quick before it heals again, and someone call an ambulance for the civilian. Bravo team, you got clean up. Five minutes, then we're outta here." 

Another man stepped up to the creature as it struggled to heal its mangled body and, in one swift motion, decapitated it with an ax. Then, just as quickly as they had come, the soldiers disappeared into the night without a trace. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Be Presented. That's what their sires had told them they had to do when entering a city. They all had to be Presented to the Prince. So, now that their sires had sent them out on their own, the Malkavian, two Brujahs, and two Gangrels all stood before the Ventrue Prince Xavier, expecting him to acknowledge their presence. Alas, things are never that easy. 

Saying that Xavier's hall was elaborate was an understatement. Every surface seemed to shine and glitter. Attendants stood around, waiting for commands. The Prince's chamber was just that: a throne room. 

Xavier sat on his "throne" and glared down at the lower Kindred before him. Each looked normal, as either a vampire or mortal are concerned. Except the Malkavian, Andrew, had a soda can held to his ear as if listening to something inside of it. As Andrew opened his mouth to speak, the Prince stopped him by pointing a finger. "You, Malkavian, are not allowed to talk." Both Doug and Michael, the Brujahs, also started to introduce themselves, but they were stopped as well. "Brujah may not speak to me either." The Gangrels, Jacob and Selt, did not even attempt to say a word. 

"I know who you all are, so there is no need to introduce yourself," the Prince started. "All that matters to me is that you're lower generations, and therefore no real concern of mine. However, I must enlist your...help, as it were." He paused as a slight smile appeared on his lips. "You came forward and presented yourself. This is good on all of your parts. I am now going to give you a task which I require to be finished within seven days. Should you fail, I'm afraid that you all might find yourselves fighting for your lives. Consider it the rest of your...presentation." 

The smirk then vanished from Xavier's face as he grew serious. His voice grew cold as he spat out his words. "Someone has killed one of my Children. Beheaded him like an animal. I do not tolerate hunters in my city. You are to find them and eliminate them. Understood?" 

All five nodded, and Jacob dared to step forward. "Do you have any leads that we might be able to follow?" 

The Prince seemed to tense as he was addressed by what he deemed a lesser creature, but he visibly relaxed a split second later. "It happened last night at a popular dance club for Kindred and mortals alike. There was one witness, though he was badly injured during the attack. You can find him at the hospital. Work from there. Now, get out of my sight." 

The five quickly walked out of the Prince's haven, thoughts running through each of their minds. Andrew was the only one eager enough to share with the rest of the group. "I don't think he likes us much." 

++++++++++++++++++ 

At the hospital, they found the man from the previous night, battered within an inch of his life. After smooth-talking the on-duty nurse, Jacob learned that the poor man had only come back into consciousness an hour ago and would probably be a little incoherent. 

"Who did it?" Doug's first question was direct and prompt as they entered the room. However, the victim was not prepared for such a forceful entrance and proceeded to yelp with fright at the sight of the five entering his hospital room. 

"Who are you people!?" The poor man looked a mess. His right eye was swollen shut and bruised multiple shades of purple. Bandages surrounded him everywhere, but most prominent was the one wrapped around his neck. 

"Who dunnit?" Michael was also insisting on getting straight to the point. However, the Brujah manner of interrogation was going to be less than helpful in this situation, and matters like this needed to be handled carefully. 

Andrew held his soda can closer to his ear, a thoughtful look on his face. Soon, he nodded in agreement to something that he alone heard and turned to the two Brujah. 

"Jennifer thinks that it would be better if you two stayed outside to make sure people don't barge in while we're talking." 

The other four Kindred just looked at him oddly. "Who's Jennifer?" Selt asked. 

"She's the fairy that stays with me." After a very long and awkward pause, Andrew added matter-of-factly, "She lives in the can and eats the sugar." 

Jacob just shook his head, expecting something along this sort of behavior from a Malkavian. "Whatever." Then he turned to Doug and Michael. "He has a point though. You two, out." 

The Brujah left the room, somewhat hurt that they were not allowed to help find the answers. As Selt closed the door to allow them some privacy with the victim, he saw as the duo took sentinel guard positions on either side of the door. 

"We heard you got into some trouble last night," Jacob began, his voice soothing after the harsh barrage of questioning from the other two. "Nearly got yourself killed." 

The man looked uneasy and hesitant as he answered. "Yeah, some guys saved me though." 

"What sort of guys? Did you see any of them?" 

"Barely. I was kinda dying at the time, you know." The man's voice was now filled with cynicism. "Most of them had their faces hidden by armor. Heavy armor. I can only remember one who wasn't protected like that." 

"Oh?" 

"I think he was a priest." The man stopped, sorting out his memories. "Yes, he was definitely a priest. He had red hair. That's what I really remember about him. That, and the cross tattoo on his wrist." 

The three vampires in the room all looked at one another; saving this important clue in their memories. 

"Is that all?" Selt asked, turning back to the man. 

"All that I can remember right now. Why do you want to know? Who are you people?" 

Selt and Jacob both prepared to answer the man, but Andrew interrupted them both. "Wait, wait... I gotta say it." The Malkavian turned to the bedridden patient, and with a deadpan look on his face answered, "If we told you, we'd have to kill you." He then broke into laughter. 

The other two just slapped their foreheads in frustration and headed out of the room, expecting Andrew to follow them. Leaning over the man, the Malkavian made sure that the victim would not remember their conversation. As Andrew headed out of the room, he took one last look at the thoroughly confused victim broke into a new fit of laughter, and closed the door behind him. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

The group quickly left the hospital and followed Jacob as he went to a church not too far away. In his mortal life, Jacob had considered himself a good Catholic boy, and even now he tried to keep in contact with some people in the church. If these hunters had enlisted the aid of a priest, then maybe one of his friends would know who it was. 

As Jacob entered, he found a middle-aged priest sitting in the pews. "Good evening, Father," Jacob said to get the man's attention. 

"Hello, my son," the priest greeted back, a warming smile appearing on his face. "How can I help you?" 

"There's an old friend of mine who is a priest, and I'm trying to look him up." Jacob was slightly squirming inside from lying to a holy man, but he knew that he had to get this information. "He's from out of town. Can you tell me if there are any priests that are new to the area?" 

The priest looked dubious for a second then paused. "Only four names come to mind..." 

++++++++++++++++++ 

"So, what he say?" Michael inquired when Jacob stepped out of his conference with the Father. 

"There are four new guys. Robert, Paul, Simon and Steve. I think that if our hunters are new, one of these guys are probably in with them." He halted for a moment, an idea coming to him. Then, he went to a pay phone at the corner of the street, telling his companions that he was calling a contact in the police media department. 

"You know a reporter?" Andrew asked. The only answer he got was a nod. 

As the line opened, Jacob was greeted by a female voice. "Hello?" 

"Hey there. It's me," he said, as if it explained it all. 

Apparently, it did. "Hi there. Do you have information for me, or do you want it from me?" 

"From. Have you heard anything about a vigilante group or anything like that? Something having to do with a guy getting beheaded?" 

"How did I know you'd ask about that? It's been the raging story of the day. The only thing I've heard though is that these guys are working with our guys." 

"You mean that they're backed by the police?" The other four vampires perked up when they heard this, as they could only hear one side of the conversation. 

"Could be." 

"Thanks doll, I owe you one." With that, he hung up and addressed the other Kindred. "Well, I guess you all heard most of that. I say we start searching out these priests. Any suggestions which one to try first?" 

"Steve." Andrew suggested immediately. "It's such a nice name." 

The others sighed but agreed. "According to the priest before, this Steve guy is giving a sermon uptown tonight. We can catch him there." And together, they left to go to Steve's church. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Upon arriving, all but Selt decided to actually enter the church. As Andrew, Jacob, Doug and Michael went through the doors, the priest was giving his sermon. Instantly, they were able to see that Steve was not their guy. 

"No red hair," Doug observed. 

"Well, let's move on then," Michael said. Those two turned to leave but noticed that Andrew and Jacob were staying behind. When they tapped Jacob on the shoulder, he just shook his head. 

"Actually, I'd like to stay." Jacob's Catholic background was catching up with him again, and he stood, entranced in the sermon. 

"Yeah," chimed in Andrew. "I like the speeches." The others grudgingly decided to stay as well. 

Not long after, the sermon ended, and Steve prepared to bless the sacrifice. As he called upon God to personally bless the bread and wine, the previously calm vampires all started to become uneasy. Suddenly, as God's presence was filling the church, every Kindred went into complete and uncontrolled frenzy. 

The congregation turned and gasped as they witnessed the vampires' actions. Jacob turned and did a flying tackle at a nearby statue of the Virgin Mary. The shattering of the stone pieces was barely heard however because, at the same time, Doug had managed to run straight into the memorial candles, burned himself and cried out in pain. Blinded by frenzy, Michael smashed straight into one of the church's support beams; his build and strength managing to shake them a little. Just as he was about to pull himself away from it, Andrew crashed into him from behind. Upon impact with the larger vampire, the Malkavian lost his grip on his soda can, which went flying from his hand, into the fountain of holy water and sank to the bottom. 

The congregation was in an uproar. What sort of people would disturb a service in such a manner? Something had to be done about them. 

Slowly, the Kindred regained their senses, and Andrew ran over to the fountain. Poising his hand over the water, he seriously contemplated subjecting himself to the pain that would result from reaching in to save Jennifer from drowning. Instead, he just kicked over the fountain, sending water spilling everywhere. Calmly, Andrew picked up Jennifer's can, checked to make sure she was ok, and then joined the others in quickly exiting the church before the humans could start a riot. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Running away and putting as much distance between them and the church as possible, the group of Kindred realized that it was a little late in the night to continue their search for the other new priests. Therefore, they decided to head to the club where the Childe had been killed. 

They were a couple blocks away when Andrew seemed to completely lose control of his senses. The other four vampires watched in shock as the Malkavian threw away the soda can he had been carrying, ran screaming toward the denim store across the street from where they had been standing, and crashed through a plated glass window. 

The four ran after him and crawled through the now broken window. They found Andrew in front of the store's soda machine, holding cans to his ear and then throwing them behind him with disgust. Displays were being destroyed as errant cans slammed into them, and clothes all over were ruined and stained with soda. Finally, Andrew found a can that seemed to calm him. Relief appeared on his face as he kept this can close to his ear. Then, he turned to face his companions. 

"What?" He asked innocently as they all gave him angry looks. "Jennifer's can was empty, and she moved. I _had_ to find her." 

All four of them could now hear police sirens growing louder as they came closer. The vampires made a silent agreement and got out of the store as quickly as they could before the cops could catch up to them. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Finally, they made it closer to the club. Music blared onto the streets as they turned onto the street where it was located. 

"Who's going to go in?" Michael asked. 

"I will," Selt volunteered. 

"Me too," Jacob said. 

As those two entered the club, the other three decided to comb the area and look for something that might give them a clue as to what happened. After a brief conversation with Jennifer, Andrew decided that she was going to take one for the team and started kicking the can down the street, acting innocent and inconspicuous. He watched as Doug and Michael climbed to a nearby rooftop for a better view point, realizing that they had just left the Gangrels alone in this club to take care of business. 

When they were out of sight, Andrew slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a mechanical pencil. The previous happy-go-lucky look on his face vanished as a different look of determination took its place; his eyes grew steely and cold. His posture changed into that resembling a true hunter. A new man now stood there. This was Andy. 

Nearby, a man in tattered rags slept on the ground, curled in the fetal position. The homeless man sighed in his sleep, unaware that someone was now moseying up to him. Andy knelt beside the man, slowly grasped the hobo's hair, and then yanked hard to hold him in place. The man barely had time to snap his eyes open before Andy stabbed him in the chest with the pencil. His attack hit its mark, as the man died nearly instantaneously without making a sound. 

Standing up and brushing himself off, the Malkavian spied a new target and took off to vanquish him in the same manner. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Meanwhile, the Gangrels were trying to blend in with the clubgoers but were failing miserably. The earthy Kindred did not fit in with the flashing lights, electronic music and new age trends that this location provided. As they looked around the crowd, a certain man caught their attention. As the both of them watched, the strange man continually glanced over at the bartender, stared at him for a few moments and then turned away. 

Without warning to anyone, Selt walked over to the staring man. Grabbing him by the throat, the vampire lifted the unsuspecting man off the ground. His feet dangling, the man's eyes widened with terror. 

"Why are you staring at him?" Selt demanded, his voice sharp. 

"He's my brother!" the man whimpered. 

Selt looked at him suspiciously for an instant. "We'll see about that." He then carried the man by his choke-hold closer to the bar. Jacob stayed behind, shielding his eyes to avoid watching this travesty. As the vampire and the human moved through the crowd, onlookers stopped their dancing and gawked at them. Finally, they stopped at the bar where the barkeeper had a similar look of fear on his face. "Do you know this man?" Selt asked the bartender. 

"Yeah, he's my brother," he answered tentatively. 

"Oh." Carefully, the vampire put his hostage back down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the man took off running. "Sorry about that!" Selt called after him. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Andy continued his wanderings, every once in a while stopping to kill another hobo. After his latest kill, he looked up and found that he was close to the store that he had previously crashed though. However, it was now surrounded by cop cars. Keeping his distance, Andy watched as the police searched through the building, treading through spilled soda. 

Suddenly, all of them ran back to their cars and sped off. Sirens tore through the night as they all vanished in a hurry. 

"I think we're missing out on all of the fun," Andy said. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Jacob could have killed Selt for the little stunt he had just pulled. "So much for staying inconspicuous," he muttered to himself. He scanned over the rest of the crowd for someone who stood out, and his gaze rested on a couple on the dance floor. Jacob could tell that this guy was Kindred, and the man carried a slightly arrogant air about him. Something familiar... something that screamed Prince. Or even better... Prince's Childe. 

Dancing unnaturally close to the Childe was a young blonde. She seemed to insist on being close to her dance partner. Jacob kept his eyes on her and noticed that Selt had also seen her. Silently, Jacob hoped that the other Gangrel would not do something rash again. 

The DJ soon stopped his songs, and announced that it was three in the morning: closing time. The club's patrons began emptying into the streets. Keeping his eyes on the Childe, Jacob grabbed Selt and followed outside. They watched as the vampire turned left, closely followed by the blonde. 

From a roof across the street, Doug and Michael saw their Gangrel companions exiting the club, and so they headed down to the ground, eager to catch up with others. Andrew also came back from his exploring, hid the mechanical pencil back in his pocket, and joined the escapade. 

Not far from the club, the five Kindred witnessed the Childe get into a car and speed off. The blonde, however, kept walking. She soon met up with a tall man by a pay phone under a street lamp. As the woman reached to make a phone call, her sleeve pulled away from her wrist enough for the vampires to notice the cross tattoo brandished on her arm. They each smiled with the fact that they are on the right track. The blonde hung up the phone and turned with her companion to get into a nearby van, which instantly sped away as soon as they were inside. 

Since they were without a car and could not follow the van, the vampires decided that it might be a good time to head back to their haven for the day. Quickly, they all headed back to the abandoned warehouse that they called home. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

The day passed quickly and soon night came again. The first vampire to arise had turned on the television, and now everyone was listening to the newscaster report on the newest headless corpse. Viewers were warned before images were shown of the body, and while most mortals might have turned away in disgust, the Kindred were leaning closer to the screen. 

"Another of the Prince's Children?" Michael asked. 

"Doesn't look like it," Doug said. "He's not really dressed like a Ventrue." The others nodded and mumbled in agreement. 

Andrew tilted his head to the side as he looked at the body on the screen. "Kinda looks like a Caitiff to me." 

"The Prince isn't going to be happy," Jacob observed. "Maybe we should get back to work and find this priest." 

After a brief discussion, they all split up to find the final three priests. Michael decided to try to find Paul, Doug and Selt were going to look for Simon, and Jacob and Andrew would search for Robert. As they walked out of the haven, they all missed what the news reporter was now saying. 

"And in other news, the police are searching for a suspect in the killings of several members of the homeless community--" 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Andrew and Jacob walked toward the home of their priest and discussed their plan for the evening. 

"Well, if this is the guy that we're looking for, he'll know how to take us out," Jacob explained. "Do we have any way to distract him so that one of us can get to him first?" 

"Well," started Andrew. "If we knock on the door, he'll come to open it, and I think I might be able to possess him." 

Jacob just stopped in his tracks, looked at his Makavian companion, and smiled. "It's a deal. Only, I'll knock on the door and you hide somewhere close. When he comes into your view from a window, then do your thing. This way, if you fuck up, we still have the chance to run." Andrew just sighed in agreement, unsure whether to mention that he had never really possessed someone before. 

Soon, they came up to the house. As Sal stepped up to the front door, Andrew took his place, hidden in some nearby bushes. Sal knocked, and Andrew watched as a man started walking toward the door. A man with bright, curly red hair. Unsure of his own capabilities, Andrew began to try to possess the priest. 

It was an incredible battle of willpower. The priest, Robert, seemed to know that something was trying to take him over, and he fought with every ounce of his being. He fell to his knees, grasping at both sides of his head. Andrew fought equally hard to dominate the man's will. Keeping his soda can near his ear, the vampire forced his control over the mortal. Finally, after about two minutes of fighting, the priest submitted and Andrew found himself in control of the holy man. 

Not knowing what was happening, Jacob merely stood at the door. Suddenly, Andrew's body collapsed to the dirt, the front door flung open, and Robert came bursting out and passed him. Jacob watched as the priest bee-lined straight for the soda can that the now-motionless body of Andrew was holding. The moment that the priest held the can next to his ear, Jacob knew that the Malkavian had won the battle. 

Stooping down, Andrew-as-Robert tried to pick up his own body, but found that the priest's strength was lacking. He turned to Jacob. "Would you mind carrying me?" The Gangrel obliged, picking up his friend and following the controlled man back into the house. 

Once inside, Andrew was able to feel Robert fighting again, but he managed to keep the priest under his control. However, he knew that he would not be able to win every time. 

"We should find some way to tie him up," Jacob said, seeming to know what Andrew was thinking. He put the Malkavian's body down on the floor. Together, they searched the house and found some zip ties. As the Malkavian forced the priest's body to sit in a chair, the Gangrel bound his wrists to the furniture, making it tight enough to keep the man restrained for a long time. They planned on some interrogation soon, and it would be no fun if he escaped. 

The last tie was just being tightened when the phone rang. The vampires looked at each other. "Fuck." 

Andrew motioned for Jacob to pick up the phone and hold it near to his ear. When the receiver was in position, the controlled mortal spoke into the phone. "Hello?" 

"Robert?" Another voice questioned. 

"Yeah?" 

"Are you ok?" 

"Yeah..." 

"Do you know what time it is?" 

"Yeah..." Andrew was beginning to wish he could say something other than "yeah." 

"Do you know where you're supposed to be right now?" 

"Yeah. I overslept." 

"Oh, ok. Do you want us to swing by and pick you up, or do you wanna just meet us there?" 

"Uh, yeah. Come pick me up." 

"Ok, be there in ten." The other party hung up, closing the line. 

"Fuck!" Andrew exclaimed and then turned to Jacob. "Untie me!" 

++++++++++++++++++ 

It was clear that the hunters were now on their way, but Jacob and Andrew could not decide on what to do now. Andrew had suggested that he continue to impersonate Robert, go with them to wherever they were going, so to learn who they were and what the plan was. Jacob just wanted to kill them all. 

"But, if we do that, there's no telling how many more might be ready to take their place," Andrew-as-Robert stated. "They might outnumber us anyway." 

"Easily solved." Jacob picked up the priest's phone and dialed numbers to get in touch with the rest of the makeshift crew. After a very short time, he had successfully contacted Michael, Selt and Doug, briefed them on what was happening, and demanded that they get to the house as soon as possible. 

"They'll be here in about seven minutes," the Gangrel said as he hung up the phone. 

"That's cutting it a little close; too close," the Malkavian mentioned. "I think I might have a better idea." As Jacob gave Andrew his attention, he explained. 

"Why don't we just have him, um, me or um, whatever, just go with them? You guys could set up a tail and follow them, so that we can find out where they're hiding out. Plus, we'll be able to kill a lot more of them this way." 

Jacob pondered over it. "Ok, but I'd feel better if I knew where this guy kept his weapons. Can you, um, pry around up there and figure out where we could find them?" Jacob kept making motions toward the mortal's head while he asked this. 

Andrew concentrated for a moment and then looked up at his friend with the answer. "The garage." 

As Jacob headed that way, the other vampire tried to figure out how to put the priest to sleep. He wanted to go and help his partner as himself, and plus these ties were getting uncomfortable. This took a little longer than searching for mental information, but he finally succeeded in causing Robert to go to sleep. Returning to his own body, Andrew got off the floor, dusted himself off, and headed into the garage. 

As he stepped inside, he saw a large security door set into the brick wall with Jacob standing in front of it, examining it and looking for a way to open it. The Gangrel reached forward and tried to pull it open, but it would not budge. 

"Maybe you need to shake it up a little," Andrew suggested. Jacob ignored him and still pulled, trying to get it to shift. After a little bit of this, he sighed. 

"Look, you're not helping me by standing there. Go back into the other room and keep an eye out for people showing up." 

"Um, ok. I'll go watch over Ol' Firecrotch some more." Andrew sounded hurt. 

"Ol' Firecrotch?" 

"Well, he's a redhead, isn't he?" 

Jacob shook his head in disbelief and went back to his task at hand. Andrew grudgingly moved into the other room. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

He plopped onto the couch and gazed out of the window. 'When are they going to get here?' Andrew asked himself. 

Not too far behind him, Robert was starting to wake up. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw one of his captors. 

Without glancing backwards, Andrew shot his fist backwards, backhanding Robert's face with a closed punch. The human immediately fell unconscious again, his nose broken and bleeding. 

"I don't have time for you right now," Andrew explained. "Wake up later, ok?" 

++++++++++++++++++ 

"They're here." 

Jacob abandoned the security door and ran back into the living room, where Andrew was watching the rest of their friends walk up to the house. They were let in and briefly given the details again about what the Gangrel and the Malkavian had accomplished. 

With one look at the priest, everyone knew that setting up a tailing operation would be useless. Robert's nose was bleeding profusely, and his eyes had been blackened around the broken area. Anyone who even saw this man would know that something had happened to him. 

"So, we go with my plan?" Jacob asked. "Kill them all?" Smiles on the face on his companions was all the confirmation he needed. They made a brief plans with no time to spare. Michael headed to the roof of the house across the street, where he would watch for the arrival of their opponents. Doug took his position on top of the priest's house with the same intention. The other three went into the garage to attempt to get the extra weapons resting on the other side of the safety door. 

One last fiddle, and Jacob managed to get it open. "Bin--" There was a heavy-duty safe on the other side of the door. "--go." 

"Does anyone know how to crack a safe?" Selt asked his two companions. Everyone shook their head no. "Well, then what do we do?" 

"Rip the door off," suggested Andrew. The others just shrugged their shoulders, and all three of them reached for a grip on the door. They pulled, hoping for the door to pop off its hinges. However, their combined strength managed to rip the safe out of its setting in the wall. It fell to the ground with a clunk. 

The clunk and failure were soon forgotten because right after it, the doorbell rang. Selt ran to the door and looked out of the peephole. A soldier in full gear stood on the stoop, waiting for the priest to open the door. The vampire whipped his back to the door, uncertain on what to do. 

Andrew had followed Selt into the hall and was now thinking. Or rather, he and Jennifer were thinking. After a brief conference with the soda can, he nodded. "The element of surprise." He put the can down on the ground, and without warning, charged down the hall. Selt, seeing him just in time, yanked the door open to let the Malkavian pass. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

The hunter never knew what hit him. Expecting Robert and some excuse for being late, he turned around when he heard the door open. Instead of the priest, he found himself tackled by Andrew as the vampire took a flying leap at him. Survival instincts kicked in, and the human fought to free himself from his attacker. Together, they fought and tumbled into the street. 

Selt stepped outside to back up his Malkavian partner. He noticed the van that the hunters had arrived in and quickly scanned over it. His eyes fell on something sticking out from the side of the van, and the vampire turned paler than usual. Instead of turning to the fight, Selt stepped onto the lawn and concentrated. Anyone watching him at the time would have seen him slowly become one with the earth and disappear from sight. 

No one was watching the Gangrel, however. From his elevated perch, Doug had also noticed the item sticking out of the van. He nearly started drooling as he recognized the M-79 gun that was being aimed at the house. Going over the gun's statistics in his head, Doug quickly figured out where the trigger would be and decided to shoot his own weapon to disable whoever was aiming it. Carefully, he fired three rounds from his own Desert Eagle. 

The first shot connected with the gunman, incapacitating him. The second shot flew errant, but the third shot, miraculously, jammed the M-79, taking off the gunman's fingers with it. . From Michael's point of view, he saw the windshield shatter with spidery cracks, covered in blood. With the driver being distracted, the van slowly creeped down the street. Jacob, who was watching from the now-open garage, waited for the right moment to overtake it. 

++++++++++++++++++ 

Andrew had won the fight with the hunter and was now holding the man in front of him as a shield. He took the hunter's gun and held it to the man's head, intent on getting the other soldiers to exit the van. Surely their code of honor would dictate that they all protect their own. 

Not so. The back of the vehicle popped open, and a soldier starts firing a Colt rifle wildly in Andrew's direction. His human shield worked well, as five shots hit the hostage but none connected with the vampire. Instead, Andrew aimed at the hunter and fired once, hitting his target and knocking him back into the inky black shadows of the still-moving van. Then, the Kindred turned the gun on his hostage and shot him once in the head to put the man out of his misery. 

Watching from the opposite roof, Michael set his heart on obtaining the Colt rifle. Carefully, he jumped down from his perch and headed after the rolling van. He did not make it before his Gangrel friend. 

As the van slowly passed him, Jacob jumped from his vantage point and leapt into the back. Three hunters were inside: one really frantic and sitting in the driver's seat, one in the passenger seat, and one lying on the ground near him. The vampire willed his claws to grow and turned his attack on the driver first. His sharpened nails went through the driver's head and connected with the windshield. Jacob pulled his hand free and then moved toward the passenger. 

The third soldier in the back gathered his gun while Jacob managed to decapitate the passenger hunter. As his last act, he fired three shots at the vampire, hitting him in the rear. As he was firing, Michael arrived behind the van and shot the remaining human. 

"You couldn't have gotten here BEFORE he fired?" Jacob growled through his pain. Michael just shrugged and grabbed the Colt out from the soldier's cold, dead fingers. Jacob winced as he reached to pull the emergency break, stopping the van in the middle of the road. 

As Michael, Doug and Jacob walked back to the house, they noticed a form appearing from the dirt. In a short moment, Selt had appeared from out of the ground. 

"You Earth Melded? In the middle of a fight?" Jacob was having a hard time hiding his disappointment. Selt did not answer but headed inside, released Robert from the chair, and carried him back outside. 

"What do we do now?" Selt asked the group. It was the universal agreement that they needed to get out of there before the police showed up. They had to run from the police a lot. Jacob mentioned the red Ford Bronco parked in the garage, and a quick search of the priest produced the keys to the vehicle. 

Andrew knelt down and picked up his former human shield. Unceremoniously, he threw the dead body into the back of the van. Together, all five of the vampires piled into the two cars and drove off into the night, with so many questions still unanswered. 


End file.
